BLU-107 Durandal
Encyclopedia
Named for a mythical medieval French sword
, the Durandal is a bomb
developed by the French
company Matra
(now MBDA
), designed to destroy airport and airfield runway
s.
. The maximum release speed is 550 kn (1,077.9 km/h; 669.8 mph) and the minimum release altitude is 200 feet (61 m). When the bomb has reached a 40° angle due to the parachute's drag, it fires a rocket
booster that accelerates it into the runway surface. The 100 kilograms (220.5 lb) primary charge explodes once the weapon has penetrated the concrete and drives the secondary charge even deeper. The 15 kilograms (33.1 lb) secondary charge then explodes after a one second delay. Later production weapons have a programmable fuze that can delay the secondary detonation up to several hours.
The weapon can penetrate up to 40 centimetres (15.7 in) of concrete
, and creates a crater 2 metres (6.6 ft) deep and approximately 5 metres (16.4 ft) in diameter. In addition, concrete slabs around the crater are disturbed in an area approximately 15 metres (49.2 ft) in diameter. The disturbed slabs are displaced up to 50 centimetres (19.7 in) above the original surface, making repair more difficult than the simple crater from a conventional bomb.
In addition, the Durandal is in service with Argentina, Turkey, and at least 14 other un-identified nations. There is conflicting information as to whether the Durandal is or ever has been in service with the French Armée de l'Air.
It was used by the USAF in Desert Storm, delivered by F-111E's of the 20th Fighter Wing operating out of Turkey
. 20th Wing flight commander Captain George Kelman said "there is nothing better at destroying a runway than a Durandal."
There is a persistent story that the first use of the Durandal was during the Six Day War in 1967. This has no basis in fact, as the Durandal was developed in the early to mid 1970s. The actual weapon was the Israeli made direct predecessor to the Durandal which would soon lead to joint French-Israeli Durandal development along with many systems already jointly developed before and during in this time period.
Durendal
Durendal or Durandal is the sword of Charlemagne's paladin Roland in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France....
, the Durandal is a bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
developed by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
company Matra
Matra
Mécanique Aviation Traction or Matra was a French company covering a wide range of activities mainly related to automobile, bicycles, aeronautics and weaponry. In 1994, it became a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group and now operates under that name.Matra was owned by the Floirat family...
(now MBDA
MBDA
MBDA is a missile developer and manufacturer with operations in France, Britain, Germany, Italy, and the United States. It was formed by a merger of Aérospatiale-Matra Missiles , Finmeccanica and Matra BAe Dynamics in December 2001. In 2003 the company had 10,000 employees...
), designed to destroy airport and airfield runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
s.
Overview
Designed to be dropped from low altitudes, the bomb's fall is slowed by a parachuteParachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
. The maximum release speed is 550 kn (1,077.9 km/h; 669.8 mph) and the minimum release altitude is 200 feet (61 m). When the bomb has reached a 40° angle due to the parachute's drag, it fires a rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
booster that accelerates it into the runway surface. The 100 kilograms (220.5 lb) primary charge explodes once the weapon has penetrated the concrete and drives the secondary charge even deeper. The 15 kilograms (33.1 lb) secondary charge then explodes after a one second delay. Later production weapons have a programmable fuze that can delay the secondary detonation up to several hours.
The weapon can penetrate up to 40 centimetres (15.7 in) of concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
, and creates a crater 2 metres (6.6 ft) deep and approximately 5 metres (16.4 ft) in diameter. In addition, concrete slabs around the crater are disturbed in an area approximately 15 metres (49.2 ft) in diameter. The disturbed slabs are displaced up to 50 centimetres (19.7 in) above the original surface, making repair more difficult than the simple crater from a conventional bomb.
Service History
The Durandal was adopted by the US in a slightly modified form (with a steeper impact angle and a higher 630 knot deployment speed) as the BLU-107/B in the 1980s, and carried by F-111 and F-15E strike aircraft.In addition, the Durandal is in service with Argentina, Turkey, and at least 14 other un-identified nations. There is conflicting information as to whether the Durandal is or ever has been in service with the French Armée de l'Air.
It was used by the USAF in Desert Storm, delivered by F-111E's of the 20th Fighter Wing operating out of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. 20th Wing flight commander Captain George Kelman said "there is nothing better at destroying a runway than a Durandal."
There is a persistent story that the first use of the Durandal was during the Six Day War in 1967. This has no basis in fact, as the Durandal was developed in the early to mid 1970s. The actual weapon was the Israeli made direct predecessor to the Durandal which would soon lead to joint French-Israeli Durandal development along with many systems already jointly developed before and during in this time period.
See also
- JP233JP233Originally known as the LAAAS , the JP233 was a British submunition delivery system consisting of large dispenser pods carrying several hundred submunitions designed to attack runways.-Design and development:...
- A British anti-runway weapon - BAP 100BAP 100The BAP 100 is a french anti-runway cluster bomb developed in the mid-1970s, and which entered service with the French Air Force in the early 1980s.- See also :...
- A smaller French anti-runway weapon adopted by the French Air Force